Sledding system and apparatus

ABSTRACT

Herein described are inflatable guide tubes for keeping participants within a sledding or tubing track. The tubes are inflated with blower that supplies enough air and pressure to keep the tubes inflated at the optimum pressure while overcoming air loss from the seams. The inflatable tubes provide a resilient bumper surface that deflects the participants towards the center of the track, should they come into contact with the guide tube. The guide tube is sewn out of a fabric such that it forms an enclosed volume. The shape of the tube is generally cylindrical, but is compliant enough to follow undulating terrain. The tube has an opening that can be secured to the output path of a high pressure air blower. When the blower is turned on, air fills the tube to such a pressure that it provides a durable and resilient bouncy surface.

PRIORITY OF APPLICATIONS

None.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This device was invented for use with summer tubing operations at ski areas. It was discovered that summer tubing operations are not easy to construct or maintain. It is also very difficult to design a summer tubing system that can be quickly set up in the spring and disassembled in the fall, allowing a ski area to place their summer tubing operations in an area of the resort most conducive to visitor enjoyment. One of the biggest challenges of summer tubing lanes is keeping the participants within the intended direction of travel. The track is generally covered with a slippery surface, while the surrounding grass or ground is not slippery. The invention allows participants to have freedom of motion side to side while travelling down the mountain as well as rotational freedom. It also gently deflects and redirects their direction of travel without abrupt bumps, ejections, or jumps. Softer and safer makes the entire system more enjoyable for guests and their kids, which is the name of the game in the ski area business.

Ski areas are always looking for cost-effective ways to make use of their controlled assets to bring in revenue during the summer months. Many ski areas have winter tubing operations and already own special lifts, inner tubes, and have staff trained to operate. Ski areas don't like laying off employees that they trained because they may not return the following ski season. A summer tubing operation allows the ski area to retain these employees and employ them in a way that is very similar to their winter occupation.

Since the invention is modular and portable, it could be used as a demonstration or rental tubing or sledding track. Said portable track could be used at fairs, parks, or for summer events at ski areas. The invention could be used at amusement parks, recreational parks, or even for private properties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Neveplast Pantigliate installation uses artificial ski matting for a tubing hill. The operation has numerous lanes separated by plastic tubes. This is an elevated, stand-alone attraction and was designed to be such. The tubes are rigid in nature and do not contain a blower system to fill with fluid such as air. The tubes are smaller in diameter than the cross section of the inner tubes that the participants are using. This installation contains a conveyor lift to get participants to the top of the structure. The guide tubes are permanently attached and are not sold separately and as such are not designed for use on ground-based summer tubing tracks on hills.

Ski Trax artificial ski matting demonstrated the use of their artificial ski matting for summer tubing operations on YouTube. They set up a single lane on a grassy slope and made use of traffic-style curbs as rigid bumpers. These bumpers do not connect to each other, the track, and do not collapse for efficient storage. They are also relatively heavy.

Tubby Tubes is a summer tubing operation in the United States. They have numerous individual lanes of summer tubing with bumpers to keep participants within the intended lanes of travel. These rigid bumpers are made of wood and are upholstered with a carpet-style product.

Neveplast is a ski matting company that makes a modular tubing product called Neveplast Tubby. They have proven commercial success through hundreds of installations around the world. Their product involves sections of premade track that contain triangular bumpers. The flat track section and angled bumper sections contain the Neveplast ski matting. Track sections overlay each other as they go down the hill such that the uphill section overlaps the downhill section. During setup, you simply lay the downhill-most section first and then overlap the next uphill section. After you place the next section, you attach it to the previous section with screws. These sections are modular, premade, and handleable by one or two people, can be stored easily in the winter, and are the primary competitor in this field. The bumpers are permanently attached to the track and contain ski matting that can scuff hands and feet at the participant travels down the track. Neveplast also makes corner sections that have elevated, banked, concave guide walls for aggressive corners. These guide walls allow for complete redirection and guiding of the participant along the intended path of travel.

The inflatable car bumper patent describes a car bumper that is filled with air. It proves the concept of resilient bumping action with no damage to the rigid structures behind the bumper. The bumper is attached to a moving vehicle, and as such when deployed prior to a collision with a non-movable rigid object offers and attenuation of kinetic energy just prior to forceful contact between moving and non-moving rigid structures thereby minimizing damage to structures. Additionally, the resilient bumping action can redirect the kinetic energy and bounce the car off a rigid structure in an intended safer direction clear of rigid non-movable structures, thereby minimizing overall damage.

Ungxtreme summer tubing owns a patent on a summer slippery ski surface. They make use of their product in the United States for summer tubing operations. They also manufacture rigid, but long guide bumpers. These bumpers are triangular in section and contain a deflection wall that is steeper than 45 degrees which deflects tubers within the intended path of travel. The triangular rigid guide wall flexes gently to meet the contour of the undulating terrain beneath the track. These guide walls are nailed down to earth or other substrate and do not provide a connection point to the slippery matting.

The patent application entitled Escape Slide for Aircraft describes an inflatable slide that can also be used as a raft during a water emergency landing. The slide contains inflatable bumpers that are connected to the slide, which is inflated with air.

These bumpers keep evacuates within the intended direction of travel. This slide is lightweight, conforms to a small volume for quick storage, and can be quickly deployed, which makes it ideal for stowing on an aircraft for use only with emergency operations. This slide is not intended for recreational use. The guard walls are filled at multiple points and cannot be removed from the slide.

The patent application entitled Toboggan and Snow Tubing Slide describes a tubing track with artificial ski matting with an integrated fluid misting system that allows for decreasing the coefficient of friction. The track contains slippery banked side walls that keep tubers within the track. The banked side walls are supported by and internal structure described as flexible tubes of different diameter which are filed with air or water. These tubes are internal to the track, do not directly come into contact with the inner tubes, and are simply a means to mechanically elevate and support a traditional flat banked guide wall.

The Snowzilla Mobile Toboggan Lane, which can be found through a Google search, is an inflatable structure that participants can climb approximately 25 feet to the top of and sled down a slippery track, which has inflated side walls. These side walls are permanently attached and integrated to the elevated sub structure such that they share one common blended volume of air through numerous openings between the walls and the structure. These guide walls are vertical with internal baffles that allow for a non-circular cross section. The guide walls act as the actual bumper surface and contain no artificial ski matting that would cause scuffs and burns to participants. These guide walls are intended for use with a large, inflatable structure and as such could not feasibly be used for a ground-based tubing lane that is laid out on a naturally-occurring slope. The guide walls have at least two compartments, stacked vertically, that allow the wall to be taller than a single cavity. This taller nature of the wall allows the wall to act as a guard from participants falling out of the elevated structure. These guide walls are attached by two or more sections of fabric that are in tension because they are part of the outer surface that contains the high pressure air. This tubing track is sold as a singular large unit to be premade and shipped to a flat location for use on level ground. This is a large and heavy unit that can only be moved with many people or with the help of a powered machine. These guide walls are elevated and never touch the ground.

Most of the commercially-successful summers tubing operations contain banked side walls that have artificial ski matting. These walls work great to deflect the participant down the direction of intended travel. The ski matting or carpet on the side walls can cause harmful contact, should a participants arm or other bare skin come into high speed shearing communication with the material.

Hard bumper surfaces generally cause quick or abrupt changes in direction and can cause undue whiplash action to the participant. These rigid structures have very little compliance and do not offer much kinetic energy absorption upon impact or contact with the traveling participant. Additionally, these banked walls can act as a jump: if a participant gets enough speed at the correct angle across the fall line, they could get ejected out of the tube or could become airborne, landing back in the track, on the bumper wall, or worse, outside the track. In general, banked guard walls help to minimize rug burns because they get the contact point between the tube and the wall (pinch point) farther away from the participant, but at the consequence of deflecting the tube upward when collisions occur.

Hard guide walls in general are slow to set up and must be carefully aligned so as to not create ledges that could cause harmful contact to a body in motion. Where setup time is critical, hard guide walls are not conducive to portable summer tubing operations.

Should a person wipe out or crash and tumble during the tubing run, rigid guard walls, especially with corners of small radius, can cause injury. Most rigid guard walls have small radius corners that are desirable from a structural standpoint, but at the consequence of being more dangerous from a participant safety standpoint.

Ski areas traditionally have a hard time retaining employees from season to season. They usually employ people seasonally where they hire in the fall and lay off in the spring. If they find really good employees, they hate to lose them in the spring, but if there is no work to do, they must lay off. The guide tube concept for summer bumper tubing is a cost-effective way for ski areas to use some of their already owned equipment (lifts, tubes) to keep these employees on year-round. Employee retention can be improved, which in general helps keep the overall costs of a ski area lower.

Rigid guard walls have numerous structural components of mass and as such are expensive and time consuming to build. Furthermore, because they are rigid and flat and sloped to get the pinch point out of the way of the participants' hands, they also have to be of lower coefficient of friction because a bumping contact would cause undue spinning action. This need to lower the friction usually results in the installation of a carpet or ski matting, which then in turn adds back in the possibility of rug burns to participants. Should the walls be built vertically, they would likely not need be of as low a coefficient of friction, but carful design and construction would be necessary to ensure that now harmful ridges are present. This give and take between designs always causes more expensive solutions to the problem that is simply solved by an inflatable guard bumper of proper design.

In general, any feature of a participant sport that is viewed as dangerous or not fun would cause the participant to be less likely to pay for the use of the equipment. If the harmful features are removed or minimized, the participant is more likely to have an enjoyable time and as such is more likely to return to the venue and pay money for the use of the equipment. Harsh guard walls are not as commercially-viable as soft, fun ones.

There is a need for the following:

As inflated guard tubes for a summer tubing operation at a ski area

Could be used as portable tubing or sledding track because they are very lightweight and easy to transport and setup

May be used with straight, cornering, or hilly sections of track

Could be used in the winter as well for the same purpose

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is a sledding system, comprising: a guide tube; a blower to displace air into said guide tube; a track disposed between two guide tubes; wherein a riding tube may slide down said track.

Another aspect is a sledding system, comprising: a guide tube; a blower; two guide tubes disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of a track; a starting deck disposed upwardly from said track; said blower operationally disposed through at least one of either a starting deck hole or a track hole to displace air into one or more guide tubes.

Another aspect of the present invention is a sledding system and apparatus, comprising: a guide tube; a blower; two guide tubes disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of a track; a starting deck disposed upwardly from said track; said blower operationally disposed through at least one of either a starting deck hole or a track hole to displace air into one or more guide tubes.

Another aspect of the present invention is a sledding system and apparatus (10), comprising: a guide tube; a track disposed immediately adjacent to said guide tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3-A illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3-B illustrates a partial side view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3-C illustrates a front or rear view of a guide tube and connection means of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a front or rear view of a center guide tube and connection means of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of two track portions of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a front view of another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference Numerals

-   10 present invention -   20 starting deck -   30 guide tube -   40 track -   50 riding tube -   60 handle -   70 blower -   80 piping -   90 plug -   100 connection means -   110 attachment flap -   120 center tube -   130 artificial snow surface -   140 fill cap with snorkel -   150 fill snorkel -   160 starting deck aperture -   170 fill cap connection means -   180 support means -   190 slowing mat -   200 fill cap -   210 fluid or air filled end OR uphill end -   220 downhill overlap -   230 riding tube seam -   240 downhill end -   250 annular rings -   260 track hole -   270 starting deck hole -   280 snorkel strap -   290 drain hole -   300 double removable bumper configuration -   310 piping system -   320 slow down device -   330 shell

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention 10, and illustrates a riding tube 50 disposed on a starting deck 20. The starting deck 20 is oriented substantially horizontally. A handle 60 is secured to the starting deck 20 near the track 40. The handle 60 may be a pole shaped member that extends upwardly from the starting deck 20 so that the user can use the handle 60 to pull or push themselves at a desired speed and direction down the track 40. A guide tube 30 may be disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of the track 40. The guide tube 30 may have a fluid filled end 210, which may also be referred to as an uphill end 210. The fluid may be air, gas, or liquid. The guide tube 30 may have a downhill end 240 downstream from the uphill end 210. A blower 70 may operationally connected to piping 80 to pump fluid, such as a gas or liquid into the guide tube 30. In one embodiment the gas is air. A blower 70 can me any device or being that can cause or direct fluid displacement.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention 10, and illustrates the guide tubes 30 disposed so as to create and separate the tracks 40 or lanes 40. The starting deck 20 may be disposed at the highest elevation of the system or present invention 10. A riding tube 50 is illustrated above the leftwardly lane on the starting deck 20, and a riding tube 50 is illustrated on a track 40 in the rightwardly lane. The blower 70 is disposed leftwardly of the guide tubes 30 and operationally connected to all guide tubes 30 via a piping system 310. The blower 70 is illustrated as being connected to the piping 80 to displace fluid; such are air in to the guide tubes 30. The handles 60 may be disposed on the starting deck 20 near the top of the track 40.

FIG. 3-A illustrates a track 40 bounded by a guide tube 30 disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of the track.

FIG. 3-B illustrates a guide tube 30 with annular rings 250 disposed near the uphill end 210, and a fill cap 200 disposed at the lowest, most downstream guide tube 30 downhill end 240. Any guide tube 30 disposed between the highest or most upstream guide tube 30, and the lowest, most downstream guide tube 30 would not have a fill cap 200, so the air could flow and occupy the volume of all guide tubes 30 that are operationally connected to a blower 70.

FIG. 3-C illustrates a guide tube 30 having a connection means 100 extending from the guide tube 30 so that it may connect with a track 40. In one embodiment the connection means 100 may be an attachment flap 110.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a guide tube 30 that, when disposed between two tracks 40, is a center tube 120. A center tube 120 may have two connection means 100, one extending leftwardly, the other rightwardly so each connection means 100 may connect to a track 40.

FIG. 5 illustrates a track 40 disposed in part over a lower track 40. For example in FIG. 5, the track 40 on the right is disposed above and rightwardly of the track 40 on the left. The downhill overlap 220 is also illustrated.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention 10 with a substantially horizontally oriented starting deck 20 connected to a track 40. The track 40 may have a track hole 260 so that the blower 70 may be connected to the fill snorkel 150, and the fill snorkel 150 is connected to the fill cap with snorkel 140 to allow air to flow to the guide tube 30.

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of an embodiment of the present invention 10 where the track 40 may have one guide tube 30 separating a track 40 from one or two connected guide tubes 30. When two guide tubes 30 are immediately adjacent or connected, this may be referred to as a double removable bumper configuration 300.

In one embodiment, the track 40 may be about forty two (42) inches or greater in width, with two 6 inch to 9 inch diameter circular tubes referred to as guide tubes 30 on the left and right sides of the track 40.

The attached guide tubes 30 may attach to the track with staples, hook and loop connections, or other any other attachment means 100.

In another embodiment may have guide tubes 30 that may be circular guide tubes 30 having a diameter of about 14-16 inches.

One embodiment may have a starting deck 20 with pull handles 60 for each lane 40 or track 40.

In one embodiment the starting deck 20 may be raised above ground level by disposing the starting deck on a support means 180. The support means 180 may be a structure such as a set of legs, or a ramp shaped structure 180.

Having a raised starting 20 may offer an increased ability to pipe air to one or more tracks 40 or guide tubes 30, and the ability to hide the blower 70 under the starting deck 20.

A raised starting deck 20 also offers a slight increase in slope of the track, giving participants a burst of speed at the top.

There could be numerous lanes 40 or tracks 40, side by side. Blower 70 may be positioned under the starting deck or away from the track 40 such that participants cannot hear the blower 70 when it is on.

The blower 70 may be sized per the number of guide tubes 30. In one embodiment the blower 70 may have up to 2 hp could be 120VAC common voltage blower 70. If an area has higher voltages available, operational costs may go down by choosing larger singular blower to inflate all guide tubes.

All tubes may be inflated from the top and plugged at bottom, so end of the guide tube 30 contains no hardware.

Anything hard, like piping to get air into guide tube 30 is mounted sub-flush with the ground surface so that there is nothing hard to collide with.

Slowing area at bottom either involves long run out of artificial snow surface 130 or slowing mats 190 that have higher coefficient of friction than manufactured snow.

The track 40 may have manufactured snow disposed thereon, or a similar summer surface for the sliding track 40 or track 40.

The Guide tubes 40 may be sized correctly and inflated correctly such that a gentle bump from a participant will deflect passenger back into track 40, if their collision with the guide tube 40 is fast enough, the guide tube 40 will deflect enough to allow them to escape from the lane without ejecting from the riding tube 40 or substantially jumping up into the air.

In one embodiment, long guide tubes 40 may span many modular sections of track 40.

In one embodiment, the guide tubes 40 may be comprised of closed surface of flexible fabric able to be filled with air, making a rigid, but compliant structure that follows the unevenness of ski runs.

The guide tubes 40 may have a uniform cross section allows for modular connectivity and which may receive fill cap 200 at the downhill end, or downstream from the air fill end 210.

Each guide tube 30 may be open at each end that allow for simple connection and air transfer between sections of guide tube 30.

The guide tubes 30 may be attached to the track 40 via a connection means 100. In one embodiment the connection means may be a staple, in another embodiment, it may be a hook and loop connectors, such as Velcro® disposed on an attachment flap 110 that may extend from the guide tube 30.

The connection means 100 may allow for simple tear down, which is important to a ski area that is trying to make use of a ski run for tubing in the summer, but still be able to groom out the snow for skiing in the winter

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the track 40 may have Downhill overlapping point creates no catch points in the fabric structure. In other words, the track 40 may overlay the top of another track 40 so that the participant slides down one track 40 and the next track 40 downstream is below the upper track 40 so the participant or riding tube does not make contact with the edge of the lower track 40.

The diameter of the guide tube 30 can be smaller, about the same size, or larger than typical commercial sledding inner tubes that cause the guide tube 30 to act as a bumper to deflect in, get tight, and keep the riding 50 tube in the track 40 because it forces in inward and possibly downward where sloped guard walls will deflect upward and possibly outward, depending on the impact velocity vector.

The guide tubes 30 with the smaller diameters reduce minimize or can eliminate the contact point with the riding tube 50 seam 230. The riding tube seam 230 may be located at mid-plane between the top and bottom of the riding tube 50. The elimination of the contact point between the riding tube 50 and guide tube 30 reduces wear and damage caused to the guide tubes 30.

No ski matting is necessary because abrasion resistant fabric is somewhat slippery, compliant and durable, which is also cheaper and simpler. The guide tubes 30 may be comprised of, or have exposed to the participant such abrasion resistant fabric. One suitable abrasion resistant fabric is UV-resistant 18-oz PVC coated polyester. This can be purchased at http://www.topvaluefabrics.com/18oz-VCP.html.

Length of the attachment flap 110 causes guide tube 30 to be in contact with the ground and the track 40, thereby limiting unnecessary motion. Tightness of the guide tube 39 is adjustable based on where you connect the guide tube 30 to the attachment flap 110. For example a shorter installation point means the guide tubes 30 will be tighter.

In one embodiment, an advantage of the invention 10 is that rather than have a ski matting to reduce the friction during a bumping event, the fabric walls have enough friction to induce a spinning force during a bump. This will make the trip down the lane even more exciting than a trip down a lane with reduced friction walls.

Alternatively too much spin can be discomforting at the end of a tubing run. So the bumping event can be exciting and the bumping event may cause some spin.

In one embodiment the guide tubes 30 may be a singular compartment, closed, tubular structure.

Separate guide tubes can individually be inflated.

The connection means 100 may be a singular, non-air filled connection point of the guide tube 30 to the track 40.

The walls or exterior surface of the guide tubes 30 have no carpet or artificial ski matting.

The guide tubes 30 modular sections that can easily rolled up and moved by one or two people.

The guide tubes 30 touch the ground.

In one embodiment, a guide tube 30 that is substantially parallel to the ground may have a convex wall, if, for example the guide tube has a circular shaped cross section, which may deflects the tube back into the track.

Tubular shape of the guide tube 30 may have a larger diameter than the riding tubes 50 thereby causing a downward component of the deflection force.

The guide tubes 30 may have a resilient, bouncy impact surface. In one embodiment the attachment flap may be between about 0.3 and 3 inches long with tube being between 6 and 24 inches in diameter.

The guide tubes 30 are removably attached to the track 40 via a connection means 100.

In one embodiment the guide tubes 30 may be easily brandable by sewing Velcro onto tube such that printed banner can be attached and detached easily. In another embodiment indicia may be printed directly onto vinyl bumper surface prior to sewing or manufacturing.

In one embodiment the connection means 100 may be an attachment flap 110 that contacts the track 40 underneath, causing Velcro connection to be loaded only in shear.

In one embodiment the guide tube can be made from one 61″ wide width of fabric. Thus the total circumference of the guide tube 30 plus one or two attachment flaps length doesn't equal more than 61″ wide.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in one embodiment there may be a guide tube 30 with two connection means 100, such as attachment flaps 110 can be used such that two tracks 40 share the same guide tube 40 as one guide wall.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment that may have a double removable bumper configuration 300. This configuration may allow tube to be installed directly over artificial ski surface so that a multiple-tubing lane array can be converted into an open ski slope for skiing or tubing.

In one embodiment, the guide tubes 30 may be sewn out of fabric and are designed to use the full width of a 61 inch wide roll of fabric, thereby eliminating waste and decreasing production time. The guide tubes 30 may be approximately 100 feet in length, which causes the overall weight to be around 75 pounds. The guide tube 30 can then be easily rolled up and moved around for setup, tear down, or storage. The guide tube 30 is generally the same in cross sectional size and shape from top to bottom, as the participant descends down the track 40. This makes for easy fabrication while also minimizing protrusions or catching points for participants.

The accompanying track 40 may have a hook and loop connection, such as Velcro® permanently-installed. This can be installed with staples or adhesive. For more durable applications, a strip of vinyl can first be sewn to the Velcro prior to the secondary attachment method. Also, certain versions of Velcro are available in forms that are stiffer and more durable and are specifically-designed to be installed to rigid surfaces.

Each guide tube 30 has the same general ends, and air fill end 210, also called an uphill end 210 and a downhill end 240. The uphill end 210 may have two annular rings 250 of 2 inch loop and hook connectors, such as Velcro sewn on the outside.

The Downhill end 240 may have two annular rings 250 of hook and loop connectors, such as Velcro sewn on the inside. This system of annular rings 250 allows the one guide tube 30 to slide into an adjacent guide tube 30 until the annular rings 250 of hook and loop connections match and can be installed upon one another.

Thus the highest uphill end of the complete tube assembly (composed of two or more guide tubes 30 connected) may be left with the external rings of hook and loop connections.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, these annular rings 250 provide a convenient method for attaching to the fill cap 200. The fill cap 200 may be a very short piece of guide tube 30 that has a cylindrical snorkel 150 connected in at a 90 degree angle to the guide tube portion 30.

The snorkel 150 may be approximately 6 inches in diameter and a couple of feet long. The snorkel 150 can be inserted into a track hole 260 and/or a starting deck hole 270 that takes the fill point to below the starting deck 20. This snorkel 150 allows for a simplistic layout of the blower piping 80, while also getting all hard objects below the starting deck 20. The blower piping 80 is inserted into the snorkel 150, and then the snorkel 150 is cinched around the blower piping 80. A snorkel strap 280 is secured around the cinched section of the tube thereby clamping the tube to the blower 70 or blower piping 80.

The downhill end 240 of the complete assembly of guide tubes 30 is left with the internal rings of the hook and loop connections. These internal rings provide a convenient attachment point for a fill cap 200, which may be a custom capped length of guide tubing 200. The fill cap 200 may be a plug that may be a sewn fabric that is a cylinder with an end cap sewn in.

Around the fill cap 200 may be two external bands of hook and loop connections, such as Velcro® (similar to the uphill end of the tube). The fill cap 200 or plug 200 is simply inserted into the downhill end of the tube until the annular rings 250. The hook and loop connections may be pressed together and the fill cap 200 or plug 200 is held in place such that the air inside the guide tube cannot openly discharge to atmosphere.

For one piece of track 40, there is one guide tube 30 disposed leftwardly, and a second guide tube 30 disposed rightwardly of the track 40.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, for the configuration of two tracks 40 there may be a guide tube 30 having a connection means 100 on each side.

Whether a guide tube 30 is used for the far left or far right end of an array of tubing lanes determines where the connection means 100 is disposed or is sewn. This location may be critical to the guide tube 30 being able to be installed with the uphill and downhill ends of the guide tubes 30 in the appropriate locations.

A guide tube 30 could be made to be ambidextrous if hook and loop connections or Velcro is sewn on the top and the bottom sides of the attachment flap 110, should this situation ever become desirable.

Finally, a center guide tube 30 would have two attachment flaps sewn in such that two adjacent parallel tubing tracks 40 could share one common guide tube 30. This configuration is desirable for multiple lanes because the overall cost to have inflatable guide tubes 30 may be lower per lane than a single track 40.

The guide tubes 30 will act as a spacing and holding mechanism for the linear pattern of track 40, which may be panels that are arranged going down the hill. This is very important because the guide tubes 30 themselves can provide a sufficient holding force to keep the track 40 panels in alignment, both across the fall line and down the fall line.

The blower 70 necessary for this inflatable guide tube 30 is the same as the blowers 70 commonly used for inflatable structures. They typically have between 150 and 1000 cubic feet per minute of air flow at a pressure of between 1 and 15 inches of water column pressure. These blowers 70 are designed to move a large volume air while also having a sufficient amount of static head pressure to affect a stiff and resilient inflated structure.

Due to the outdoor storage of the guide tubes 30 in the summer months the addition of rain drain holes 290 are included on one embodiment of the present invention 10.

Drain holes 20 of approximately ½ inch in diameter may be punched into the hook and loop connections, such as the Velcro flap at approximately 10 foot spacings.

The drain holes 290 are located immediately adjacent to the Velcro in the direction towards the tube. These drain holes 290 could be made in many different ways including, but not limited to slots or penetrations of different dimension or pattern.

Storage at night and when the guide tubes 30 are not in use will involve tying down the guide tubes 30. Additional tie down flaps may be added at numerous locations on the side of the guide tube 30 away from the track 40. These tie down flaps are made with a loop of nylon webbing or other flap of fabric with a hole or grommet. Users hook this flap with a bungee cord or similar device and hook to the matching flap on the adjacent tube. The guide tubes 30 will then be lying flat and completely on the track 40, allowing for mowing and resilient to blowing around or flapping in the wind.

In one embodiment, the current design makes use of 18 oz vinyl material. This material is very durable: if is highly scratch resistant and abrasion resistant. It is also highly UV resistant while also be mold and mildew resistant. These combinations of durability provide a fabric that is suitable for being outdoors in the elements for many years without significant wear. This material is also highly stretch resistant. In order to maintain its shape, the material has to have very low stretch under high tension. It is noted that many types of materials would work for this application.

The hook and loop connections and thread are also designed for outdoor use. It is highly UV resistant as well as mold and mildew resistant.

If any adhesives should be necessary for installing hook and loop connections, such as Velcro, patching holes, or during final designed construction, it will be of the permanent, welding type of vinyl adhesive.

A clear version of reinforced vinyl could feasibly be used for a nighttime tubing operation. If the operator were to install a row of lights, similar to rope lighting, through the guide tube 30, the guide tube 30 could be lit up at night. This could be highly desirable for a venue that wants to maximize hours of operation and profits. The lights could be bright or dim and could vary in color and intensity. The whole idea of lights would add a significant selling point to the overall proposition of running a summer tubing operation.

Each section of guide tube 30, being about 100 feet long, weighs approximately 75 pounds. When rolled up, this weight can be managed by one person during transport and storage.

Each section of guide tube 30 contains approximately 200 cubic feet of volume when inflated. After deflating and folding or rolling, the total volume is decreased significantly to about 4.5 cubic feet. This reduction in volume makes the invention highly portable and easy and cheap to ship and store.

In one embodiment the overall shape of the guide tube 30 is tubular. The cross section is circular, but could be rectangular, square, triangular, or otherwise. The guide tube 30 conforms to the track undulations, whether they are up and down or left and right. If pronounced banked corners or rolling hills be desired, the inflatable guide tube may sweep from a circular section to an elevated and enlarged section thereby raising up the track 40 and proving the desired banked corner. The rolling hills and corners could contain not only the inflated guide tubes 30, but also the supporting mechanism for the track 40.

In one embodiment, during use, the blower 70 must be running and the guide tubes 30 fully inflated to the appropriate pressure. The entire guide tube 30 or assembly of guide tubes 30 is enclosed such that the only air escaping from the internal pressurized cavity is minimized to just the needle punctures from the sewing operation or at the loop and hook connections.

The hook and loop for Velcro attachment flap 110 is fully engaged the entire length of the track 40. For the invention 10 to work properly and the present invention 10 to be safe, the entire length of the attachment flap 110 is fully attached to the underside of the track 40. Since the attachment flap 110 is installed around the bottom corner of the track 40, the hook and loop connections or Velcro is always being loaded in shear, which is the strongest and preferred use of this removable connection method.

The uphill guide tube 30 refers to the configuration when there are at least two connected guide tubes 30, and the uphill guide tube 30 is disposed upwardly with respect to other guide tubes 30 and is the highest positioned guide tube 30.

The uphill guide tube 30 overlaps downhill tube with two or more annular rings 250 of Velcro, sewn to both tubes such that they match up and hold the sections together with great strength. If one were to pull on the bottom most tube section (or impact the tube during sliding activities), the hook and loop connections or Velcro is being pulled upon with a shear force, the preferred loading of hook and loop connections or Velcro.

The blower 70 supplies air to the piping system 310, which may comprise the fill snorkel 150, fill cap connection means 170, fill cap with snorkel 140, and which could contain numerous elbows and tees to split the flow to provide air to more than one or more inflatable guide tube 30. The piping system 310 supplies air to the fill snorkel 150 of the fill cap 200, which supplies air to the start of the first section of guide tube 30. Every uphill guide tube 30 supplies air to its adjacent downhill guide tube 30. Finally, the fill cap 200 also called the end plug 200 stops air from leaving a guide tube 30, typically the most downhill guide tube 30. Throughout the entire inflatable assembly, some air may escape at certain areas such as the needle puncture points from the sewing process.

When a riding tube 50 bumps the wall of a guide tube 30 at a normal velocity, the wall deflects, takes some energy out of the tube, converts it into some rotational energy, and deflects the riding tube 50 and passenger back into the track 40.

When a passenger and riding tube 50 bumps the guide tube 30 at a high, or escape velocity, the guide tube will likely deflect underneath the riding tube 30 and allows the passenger to escape the track 40 without being ejected from the riding tube 50 or launching into the air. This type of event also slows the riding tube 50 down prior to escape because it takes energy to deflect the guide tube 30 as the participant slides over the riding tube 50. They could slide for a long time down the riding tube 50 until finally stopping, which is more desirable than jumping or crashing.

The circular cross section of the inflatable guide tube 30 may have a larger diameter than the riding tube 50 that are being used for tubing activities. In one embodiment the diameter of the guide tube 30 may be approximately 15.25 inches. In another embodiment the circular cross section of the riding tube 50 may be about 7 inches.

Additionally, the mid plane of the guide tube 30 may be above the mid plane of the riding tube 50. The mid plane is parallel to the track section and is coincident with the central axis of the cylinder.

Variations in the design include a guide tube 30 that is smaller in diameter than the riding tube 30 with a mid-plane that is below the mid plane of the riding tube 50. This variation in geometry, when combined with a higher inflation pressure is better suited for high speed tubing runs. The higher pressure keeps the riding tube 50 in the track 40 better while the smaller diameter increases the chance of a participant's foot getting jammed into the riding tube 50 during a run.

The attachment flap 110 is approximately 1.5 inches long between the edge of the track 40 and the connection point to the guide tube 30. This distance is critical in that if it is too long, the guide tube 30 can move left and right in the wind. If the distance is too short, during inflation, the guide tube will tend to unnecessarily pull itself from the track 40 because it is in collision with the ground and the ski matting on the track 40.

A hook and loop connection or Velcro or air tight connection points are necessary to keep air from escaping at a rate that exceeds what the blower 70 can supply. Currently, two rings of 2 inch Velcro are enough, but should a tighter system be desired, and thereby needing a blower of smaller capacity, measures could be taken to seal up the needle puncture holes and the Velcro connection points. Measures could be, but are not limited to adhering a piece of fabric to form a sealed joint, additional rings of hook and loop connections such as Velcro, one or more attachment flaps 110 that create a more enclosed and complex path with more resistance to escaping air, sealed zippers, or magnets.

A fill cap 200 with a fill snorkel 150 is the preferred way to inflate the guide tube 30. The fill cap 200 is designed such that it attaches to the uphill end of the track 40 and has a tubular protrusion at an advantageous angle to the guide tube 30. This guide tube 30 can be inserted through a starting deck hole 270 in the starting deck 20 and attached to the blower 70 or piping system 310, such that the fill point is hidden away from the users.

The mating hook and loop connections such as Velcro on the track 40 must be securely adhered or fastened to the track 40 by some permanent means, such as adhesive, staples, nails, screws, or carpet tacks.

Other embodiments of the present invention may include, but not be limited to the starting deck 20 could be built to be permanent or removable; there could be an overlaid second wear layer along the impact zone of the guide tube 30; the guide tubes 30 could contain a slippery bumper layer; the guide tubes 30 could have sectioned parts to make the guide tubes 30 flex and conform to non-straight sections of track 40; the guide tubes could be used on rolling hills or banked curves; mWax, or a similar synthetic snow lubricant can be used to speed up riding tubes 50 and could be used on guide tube 30 walls to make slipperier; Non-circular cross sections of the guide tube 30 are possible; the entire guide tubes 30 could be made with drop stitch fabric; track 40 sections could be made from inflatable structure; the guide tubes 30 could be elevated off ground with supporting structure that allows for similar deflection properties; could use ski hill air compressor or water piping system to fill guide tubes 30 for convenience and quietness; could use different removable connection points; could permanently attach bumpers to the guide tubes 30; printed or colored fabric for coloring or branding on any of the components; use of translucent fabric with lights behind it to light up for night operations for any of the components; could be used without artificial ski mat as a track or part of the track 40 rather simply slippery fabric or other slippery hard or soft surface; participants could go down track 40 with any sliding device including simply sliding down the track 40 in their clothes; the present invention can be used in the winter with real snow in the track 40; guide tubes 30 could be made at a smaller diameter than the riding tubes 50; one could feasibly inflate the guide tubes 30 from any point or even from the bottom of the guide tube 30; inflatable slow down devices could be easily added to the track 40, and such devices could be deflated, but should the operator want to bring a tuber to a stop, the device could be inflated.

When inflated, the device will come into contact with the moving tube from the bottom or from one or both sides. The inflated device will add to the frictional force that opposes the motion, bringing the participant to a stop quicker that when not using such a device.

The entire piping system 310 and guide tubes 30. The piping system 310 and guide tubes 30 could be covered under an inflated or structural shell 330. The participants would actually be traveling down the hill inside of an enclosed structure, keeping them out of the rain or the sun.

Throughout the use of the tubing track 40, the need to lubricate the artificial ski surface may be necessary. This could be accomplished through the use of a rolling waxer. This roller would have a cylindrical casting of tubeWax™ or similar lubricant that could be simply rolled down the track, pressing the wax onto the tips of the bristles.

Additionally, speed up panels could be added into slower sections of track 40 or on tracks 40 that are on too shallow a grade for the riding tubes 50 to make it down the hill. These panels could be pre-wetted with a lubricant such as tubeWax™ or silicone or any similar slippery fluid. The tubers would then pass over the panel and get a layer of lubricant on their tubes, automatically speeding them up.

The inflatable guide tubes 30 provide a very large and prominent surface area that could very readily be used for branding or on hill advertising. The simplest method would be to build the guide tubes 30 out of printed vinyl fabric. Another method would be to sew Velcro strips on the guide tubes such that at any later date, a banner could be printed and assembled with its own mating Velcro pattern such that it could be quickly attached to the guide tubes 30 using Velcro.

This track 40 and guide tube 30 system could very easily be adapted for flat land use with some other propulsion system. Examples of such systems are handle tows, cable tows, rope tows, bungee systems, winch systems, etc.

The entire present invention 10 could be used in the winter when there is or isn't snow. The track 40 with guide tubes 30 could be used with uphill tow lines. In fact, this would be another prominent use of the design. These particular guide tubes 30 could possibly be much smaller in diameter and could be designed to stop a tube, should it come detached from the tow line. The smaller riding tubes may work very well to keep an uphill tuber on the desired uphill track 40.

Finally, the inflatable guide tube 30 could be used for any form of sledding, tobogganing, tubing, skiing, sliding, etc. where a specific track 40 and path of travel is desired. 

We claim:
 1. A sledding system and apparatus (10), comprising: a guide tube (30); a track (40) disposed immediately adjacent to said guide tube (30).
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said track (40) is disposed between two guide tubes (30).
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said guide tube (30) is hollow.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said guide tube (30) if filled with a fluid whereby the internal pressure inside the guide tube (30) is greater than the atmospheric pressure.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said fluid is air.
 6. The sledding system and apparatus (10) of claim 1, wherein said guide tube (30) is comprised of a closed surface of flexible fabric able to be filled with air, making a rigid, but compliant structure that follows the surface beneath said guide tube (30).
 7. The sledding system and apparatus (10) of claim 1, wherein said guide tube (30) has exposed to the participant a smooth fabric.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the smooth fabric is a UV-resistant 18- oz PVC coated polyester.
 9. A sledding system and apparatus (10), comprising: a guide tube (30); a blower (70); two guide tubes (30) disposed leftwardly and rightwardly of a track (40); a starting deck (20) disposed upwardly from said track (40); said blower (70) operationally disposed through at least one of either a starting deck hole (270) or a track hole (260) to displace air into one or more guide tubes (30).
 10. The sledding system and apparatus (10) of claim 9, wherein said guide tube (30) is comprised of closed surface of flexible fabric able to be filled with air, making a rigid, but compliant structure that follows surface beneath said guide tube.
 11. The sledding system and apparatus (10) of claim 9, wherein said guide tube (30) has exposed to the participant an abrasion resistant fabric, such a UV-resistant 18-oz PVC-coated polyester.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said guide tube (30) receives fluid from said blower (70) and displaces the fluid through at least one of either of the following, needle punctures from the sewing operation or at the loop and hook connections and said guide tube (30) maintains a substantially static volume when the blower (70) is displacing fluid.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said fluid is a gas.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said gas is air.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said fluid is a liquid. 